


Appearances

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 09:21:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/796566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things aren't always as they appear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Appearances

## Appearances

by Nemesis

They're not mine, but I think I wanna play with them for a while. Don't sue.

In response to what's going on in San Francisco.

* * *

They took a three day weekend and just disappeared, leading to much speculation in Major Crimes. Then, the news started coming in from California, and the already massive betting pool began to heat up again. Simon tried to stay out of it, but he found him self watching the news almost obsessively, to see if Jim and Blair's faces turned up in the clips. If they did, all his silence the past four years was going to be worthless. But he had to know, he had to be ready if the Chief saw them. Their faces never appeared though, and Simon just shook his head and wondered when he'd started actually believing the rumors. 

Maybe it was the fact that it had been what? Seven years now? Something like that. He'd heard grumbles from upstairs about how it was unnatural, and it had taken some fancy footwork, and vague references to Sentinels to keep them from being separated. So, he kept watching the news, and praying not to see their faces. 

Monday morning, Blair came in early and alone. The bullpen went silent when he pushed open the door, and he took a moment to check if he'd remember to put pants on. "Come on guys, I've only been gone three days. What's with the looks?" 

A smile taking up the good portion of his face, Joel spoke from his chair. "We were wondering if you could settle a little argument for us." 

"Sure." Everyone looked so excited. Had he won the lottery or something? 

"Where have you and Jim been?" 

"San Francisco." Even before he finished speaking, Henri was pulling out his wallet. "Okay, what did I miss?" 

"Nothing important, man." Henri handed a twenty over to Joel with a grimace. "Can't believe this." 

"Can't believe what?" 

"That we weren't even invited to the wedding." 

"You guys knew about the wedding?" Blair suddenly seemed angry. "Jesus, were you rifling our desks or something?" 

"Hey, we-" 

"Don't either of you dare say a word to Jim, you hear me? His ex-wife did her best to turn him into hamburger this weekend, and he doesn't need grief from you too." 

"Ex-wife?" 

"Yeah. Ex-wife. Who just got remarried? And dragged Jim to the wedding?" He watched as Joel sighed and handed the twenty back, then dug out one of his own. "Wait. This wasn't about Caroline?" 

"No, we uh... Never mind." 

"Who did you guys think was getting married?" Blair looked between them. "Guys. Who did you think was getting married?" 

Joel nudged yesterday's newspaper across the desk. Blair picked it up and looked at the headline. "You thought... Jim and I?" For a minute, they thought he was going to explode. Instead, he started laughing. "Married. You thought we ran off to San Francisco to get married!" 

"Okay, I'll admit it sounds a little ridiculous out loud..." Joel was turning an interesting shade of red. 

The door to Major Crimes opened and an exhausted Jim Ellison entered. Blair took the newspaper and grabbed his partner by the arm, steering him towards the break room. "Jim, man, you're not going to believe this." 

Joel and Henri watched them go. "I really thought..." 

Henri clapped him on the back. "Hey, you can't be right all the time." 

* * *

"Should we tell them the truth? There's money at stake." Blair poured them both coffee. 

"No." And Jim was adamant about that. "You think I want the entire squad to know you shot me down?" 

"It's nothing personal, Jim." He sat as close as he dared. "The thing about marriages is that they end. I'm not going anywhere, I just can't marry you." 

"I go all the way to San Francisco, let my ex-wife torture me, and you said no." He actually looked sad. "How can you not believe in marriage, Chief? It exists. I can prove it to you." 

Blair sighed and with a quick movement reached out and stroked Jim's thigh. "Think of how I grew up, okay? You're lucky I'm still here. Usually, when a guy proposed, Naomi and I left for the next continent." 

"Should I have not asked?" 

"No, man. I'm glad you did. I just can't say yes." And he couldn't, no matter how much he loved Jim, and not just for the reasons he'd said. He watched Jim get up, and go back into the bull pen, his thoughts on how much trouble that little piece of paper could have caused. Simon gave them a lot of slack, but even he couldn't have covered for them if they'd been spotted on the news, or if they'd decided to file as domestic partners. So, he'd said no, no matter how much he'd wanted to say yes. `We take what we can get, Jim. And right now, this is all we can have.' 

* * *

End Appearances by Nemesis: nemesis_07@juno.com

Author and story notes above.

  
Disclaimer: _The Sentinel_ is owned etc. by Pet Fly, Inc. These pages and the stories on them are not meant to infringe on, nor are they endorsed by, Pet Fly, Inc. and Paramount. 


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